Project information

LUANSOBE FOOD SECURITY (LEGUME) PROJECT

To train Zambian farming families on dry bean production as an alternative crop to maize thus enabling them both to earn a reasonable income, so they can buy food, and improve soil fertility, so that they can continue to grow other crops in a healthy rotation and reduce deforestation.

Charity information: Kaloko Trust UK

Need

Small-scale farmers in Luansobe area face a constant struggle to grow enough maize to feed their families. With erratic rainfall, poor sandy soils and rising fertilser prices, many farmers are now giving up using fertiliser and maize yields have plummeted, which has severely impacted household food supply. With few livestock there is little manure available to help maintain soil fertility and one result has been the increased rate of deforestation as farmers clear new fields.

Solution

In 2009/10 Kaloko, together with the Department of Agriculture, commenced a pilot training and extension project to encourage the cultivation of dry beans among the 1,500 farming families in Luansobe. The community have now asked Kaloko to extend the training and demonstration project to a minimum of 115 new farmers and also to expand the range of legumes to include both red-sugar bean and soya bean, Dry beans are leguminous and fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil thus improving fertility.

Aim 1

To improve household food security for approx 12,000 people living in the Luansobe area.

Activities

» Supply 115 farmers with seed and fertiliser for 0.5 hectares of dry beans each.
» Give regular extension support to 115 farmers who will set up on-farm demonstration areas on their own farms.
» Form a Food Security Committee consisting of two Govt Extensionists, Director of Kaloko Zambia, the Nurse-in-charge and two community representatives.

What success will look like

Success will be farming families demonstrating the income and nutrional advantages of growing legumes to friends and neighbours..

Aim 2

To reduce the rate of deforestation in the Luanobe area.

Activities

» Provide material and technical support to 115 farming families to set up demonstration areas showing the use of legumes to maintain soil fertility.

What success will look like

Success will be the demonstration of the long term yield enhancing value of growing legumes in rotation with other crops.

Impact

1) Income and nutrition improved for local farming families
2) Extended use of existing farming fields before new areas of forest are cleared (present cycle 2-3 years).

Risk

Risk: Farmers may not be interested in growing legumes or setting up demonstration areas on their farms
Mitigation: Kaloko has already run a small pilot of training and demonstration and this project is designed in response to the requests from local farmers who witnessed the success of the previous demonstration plots.

Risk: The chosen varieties of legumes will not do well under local conditions
Mitigation: Only locally tested proven varieties will be used

Reporting

Kaloko Zambia staff will record all activities and expenses and provide quarterly reports to Kaloko UK whose Director will visit Zambia twice a year to monitor project progress, and meet with participants. Kaloko UK will provide the donors with a final narrative and financial report.

Location

The Luansobe area, Masaiti District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia consists of 11 scattered remote rural villages with a total population of about 12,000. Poor soils, erratic rainfall, and lack of access to credit, seeds or fertilisers, means that farming families are often unable to grow enough food for the year: hunger and food shortages occur for 2 or 3 months every year. Food security is further undermined by loss of labour through diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries: 115 farmers trained in dry bean production.
Other beneficiaries: approx 900 family members of the farmers trained who will benefit from increased household income and improved food security.
Indirect beneficiaries: 1,500 farming families (approx 12,000 people) living in the area who will be exposed to local examples of dry bean production and thus be able to make informed decisions as whether to adopt the new crop and decrease the rate of deforestation

Why Us?

Kaloko Trust has been working to relieve poverty in the Luansobe area of the Copperbelt Region in rural Zambia since 1989. Staff have extensive practical experience in local agriculture and income generation, through self-help projects and by promoting the environmentally sustainable use of natural resources. Staff also live within the target villages and hold regular local consultations. They understand the challenges faced and together with communities develop locally appropriate solutions.